America is going through a physical fitness renaissance. In the past decade the proliferation of health spas and clubs attests to that fact. Aerobic exercise has become popular, both in class sessions and at home, with the use of video tapes or programs. Most people are content to exercise in their home environment and are reluctant to join clubs or purchase the expensive mechanical exercising devices that are now available.
In order to enhance the beneifts of a physical self-improvement exercise or calisthenics program, the present invention provides a simple, inexpensive, light-weight exercising device that is adaptable to a great variety of exercises for development of chest, back, shoulder, stomach, arm, leg and thigh muscles.
The instant invention embodies a continuous closed loop or circle of elastic material accompanied by three rings capable of ready removal from or attachment to the continuous elastic loop by doubling the loop at any point and selectively inserting that double portion into the three rings to form secondary or smaller loops around the elastic circle to achieve the exercise methods and routines described and illustrated.
No prior art is known to Applicant having the structure herein described nor its mode of application of rings for the exercises described and illustrated herein.
The closest prior art are the patents to Norton, No. 4,251,071 issued Feb. 7, 1981; to Vanhousen, No. 4,245,840 issued Jan. 20, 1981; and to Dubach, No. 3,966,204, issued Jun. 29, 1976. Other patents on prior art known to Applicant are a patent to Nilson, U.S. Pat. No. 224,103, Dec. 3, 1940; Weider, U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,827, Oct. 24, 1978; Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,246, Nov. 8, 1977; Kaiser, U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,367, Jan. 21, 1986; Freidman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,620, Aug. 9, 1977; Paris, U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,580, Jul. 5, 1977.
None of the foregoing prior art use the combination of the continuous loop of elastic together with the removable ring construction of this application defining the auxiliary loops in any desired location and of any desired size. None of the foregoing or any other art known to Applicant provide the versatility or flexibility of Applicant's construction nor permit the variant exercises accomplished thereby. Some of the exercises are of significant importance and utility and they cannot be achieved by any of the prior art devices, whether singly or collectively.